West Point Military Academy Sued Over Race-Based Admissions
A
conservative advocacy group has sued U.S. Military Academy at West Point,
alleging its admissions policy is unconstitutional as its partly based on race.
By
Tom Ozimek
9/20/2023
Updated: 9/20/2023
A
conservative advocacy group that won a Supreme Court case against race-based
enrolment policies at Harvard is now suing the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, alleging that the academy's admissions
policy is unconstitutional as it's partly based on race.
Students
for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a complaint (pdf)
on Sept. 19 at a federal court in New York, arguing that West Point uses race
and ethnicity as factors in admissions, violating the Fifth Amendment's
equal-protection principle.
The
group wants the court to find the use of race in admissions at West Point
unconstitutional and impose race-blind candidate evaluation procedures.
"West
Point has no justification for using race-based admissions," the group
wrote in the complaint. "Those admissions are unconstitutional for all
other public institutions of higher education. The Academy is not exempt from
the Constitution."
More
Details
SFFA
is the same group that won a case before the Supreme Court on June 29, reviving
a strict interpretation of the 14th Amendment to make clear that equal
treatment under the law bars discrimination based on race, even when that
discrimination gives a leg up to groups considered "marginalized" or
"underrepresented" in public life.
Heartened
by its recent win against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the
group has set its sights on purging the U.S. military—and West Point—from what
it sees as woke policies.
In
its latest legal action, SFFA argued that, for most of its history, the West
Point Academy evaluated cadets based on achievement and merit—but that has now
changed.
“Instead
of admitting future cadets based on objective metrics and leadership potential,
West Point focuses on race,” the group wrote in the lawsuit.“In fact, it openly
publishes its racial composition ‘goals,’ and its director of admissions brags
that race is wholly determinative for hundreds if not thousands of applicants.”
But
"America's enemies do not fight differently based on the race of the
commanding officer opposing them" and "soldiers must follow orders
without regard to the skin color of those giving them," the group added.
However,
West Point sets benchmarks for the percentage of each class that should be
filled by people of different races and ethnicities, and it "meticulously
tracks its compliance with those figures down to a tenth of a percentage
point," the group said.
West
Point has nearly 4,400 undergraduates. Of these, 2,693 are white, 483 black or
African American, 545 Hispanic/Latino, 414 Asian, and 38 American Indian or
Alaska Native, according to October 2022 data from West Point (pdf).
SFFA
wants the court to declare West Point's admissions policy unlawful and block
it, arguing that the academy "discriminates based on race."
"Over
the years, courts have been mindful of the military's unique role in our
nation's life and the distinctive considerations that come with it. However, no
level of deference justifies these polarizing and disliked racial
classifications and preferences in admissions to West Point or any of
our service academies," Edward Blum, president of SFFA, said in a
statement.
Asked
for comment, the West Point public affairs office told The Epoch Times in an
emailed statement: “The U.S. Military Academy does not comment on pending
litigation.”
On
its website,
West Point says that its Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) program "formulates,
directs, and sustains a comprehensive effort to maximize human potential and to
ensure fair treatment for all soldiers based solely on merit, performance, and
potential in support of readiness. MEO philosophy is based on fairness,
justice, and equity."
West
Point pledges to "ensure equal opportunity and fair treatment for all
cadets, soldiers, and family members, without regard to race, color, religion,
national origin, sex (gender identity), or sexual orientation and provide an
environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior. "
This
comes amid a broader critique that the quality of America's warfighters is
being undermined by policies and actions that generally fall under the umbrella
of "woke."
The
Rise of 'Wokeness'
The
rise of "wokeness" in the military has been
the subject of increased scrutiny and criticism, with a Navy
training video instructing sailors how to use personal pronouns in line with
the latest progressive norms so as to create a "safe space for
everybody" being one example of that has irked many on the right who
insist the military's focus should be on competence and readiness—not pronouns.
Recently,
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, denied in
an interview
on CNN that the U.S. military had become
"too woke."
After
admitting that he's "not even sure what that word truly means," he
said that America's military is "exceptionally strong."
"It's
powerful. It's ready. In fact, our readiness rate is—the way we measure
readiness—is better now than they've been in years," he added.
"This
military is a lot of things but woke it is not," Mr. Milley said.
However,
Mr. Milley acknowledged that there are "some things out there" that
"could be fit into that category," referring to "woke."
"But
I don't think it certainly is—it is not a broad-brush description of the U.S.
military as it exists today," he added.
But
some—perhaps even many—would disagree.
"Wokeness
in the military has become ingrained," wrote Thomas Spoehr, director of
the Center for National Defense at the Heritage Foundation, in an
op-ed for The Epoch Times.
"Wokeness
in the military is being imposed by elected and appointed leaders in the White
House, Congress, and the Pentagon who have little understanding of the purpose,
character, traditions, and requirements of the institution they are trying to
change," Mr. Spoehr argued.
After
listing various ideological policies that have been adopted by the U.S.
military, including indoctrinating service members in critical race theory—he
said
"The
bottom line is that precious time and money are being poured into woke programs
and projects that would be better applied toward making the military more
capable," he argued.
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who's seeking the Republican nomination for president in
2024, recently flagged the issue as a significant problem and vowed to "rip
the woke out of the military and return it to its core mission."
Connecting
the Dots:
Walter Isaacson was
the chairman & CEO for CNN and is the president & CEO for
the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Frederic V. Malek
was a board of visitor’s member for the U.S. Military Academy (West
Point) and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the
Aspen Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society and is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for
the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Barry R.
McCaffrey was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and a professor at the U.S. Military Academy
(West Point).
Andrew
Goodpaster was a chairman for the Atlantic Council of the
United States (think tank) a chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and a superintendent for the U.S. Military
Academy (West Point).
Daniel W.
Christman was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and a superintendent for the U.S. Military
Academy (West Point).
George A. Joulwan was
a professor at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and is a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for
the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for
the Open Society Foundations.
Colin L. Powell was
an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank) and the chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
James E.
Cartwright is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of
Staff and a U.S. Marine Corps general.
Edmund P.
Giambastiani Jr. and is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), was the vice chairman for the Joint
Chiefs of Staff and a U.S. Navy admiral.
Joseph W. Ralston is
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank),
was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a U.S.
Air Force general.
Resources:
Past Research
West
Point Now Teaches Critical Race Theory (Connecting the Dots: West Point to
Soros) (Past Research on West Point)
THURSDAY,
JUNE 23, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/06/west-point-now-teaches-critical-race.html
Gen.
Martin Dempsey Apologizes to Slain Navy SEAL's Mother (Past
Research on Joint Chiefs of Staff)
TUESDAY,
APRIL 21, 2015
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/04/gen-martin-dempsey-apologizes-to-slain.html
Charleston:
CNN’s Sick Pattern of Using the Dead as Political Weapons Against the Right (Past Research on CNN)
SATURDAY,
JUNE 20, 2015
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